nysalogs | ❪ event ❫ hour of ruin

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❪ event ❫ hour of ruin

HOUR OF RUIN

Sometime after midnight, after preparations have been put aside in favor of drinks and rest, a thunderous beating of wings shatters the air — the High Dragon Ysverai, once again risen. The sound echoes high off Namarak Mountain, but travels easily to both Wyver and Olympia: scream after scream rends the still night, as though a creature were dying rather than being born again.

Having only had days to plan their defense against the creature, Olympia and Wyver snatch up their arms. The Royal Guard and the Knightryders can be seen on their steeds hurrying through the cities, because Ysverai doesn't remain isolated at the mountain's peak for long.

There are pictures of Ysverai in abundance throughout both cities, but the creature that circles in the sky looks nothing like the majestic creature spoken of in history books. Even from far below, wounds and lacerations can be seen marring what should be smooth scales, and blood falls with every beat of the dragon's wings. The damage becomes more clear when moonlight illuminates Ysverai, revealing the rotting dragon for all to see.

The sight of flesh peeling away and thick blood where it oozes from his cracked, greyish hide is as frightening as the power he possesses.

REASON'S TRANSCENDENCE

Mad from the anguish of his forced revival, Ysverai will show none of his renowned wisdom or compassion, mindless and seeking to inflict his pain onto whatever emerges in his path.

His very presence creates chaos: animals (Olympia | Wyver) domesticated and wild, flee from the merest hint of his approach, panicked and stampeding in wild droves. The reason is obvious: organic matter exposed too long to his presence begins to rot and decay. A field he lands in rots and lies fallow. Buildings crack and crumble, their supports pitted and corroded as though they've been left in disrepair for years. Even the ground that Ysverai walks upon is tainted; a corrosive sludge bubbles up in his massive, clawed footsteps, the ground beneath him putrefied and toxic, oozing corruption. This sludge can be tar-like, poisonous and sucking people in like quicksand; panic, and you'll only sink faster.

Prolonged exposure to Ysverai takes a mental toll on anyone in his proximity as well. Effects similar to those from being near his heart — selfish desires and lowered inhibitions — will begin to fester in those around him.

Every time Ysverai roars, pain will run through all those that hear him — a pain not just physical, but of true, anguished heartbreak. Those who hear Ysverai will feel (to a degree of your choosing) a sharing of his pain, the agony of flesh rotting from their bodies, blood oozing from under their skin, and a terrible, incandescent fury — and beneath that, a gut-wrenching sadness. This effect is further enhanced by any exposure to Ysverai's blood, and being drenched in greater quantities will cause one to become more in sync with the dragon.

Finally, Ysverai is aggressive, attacking anyone and anything that approaches. He starts by breathing out a smog, acidic and putrefying — characters caught directly by this attack will find that medicine and healing magic of any kind hurts them for hours after exposure. The dragon will ignite the smog to breathe fire, if sparingly.

IN WYVER

Ysverai's shadow falls over the near reaches of Wyver first. Upon hearing Ysverai's cry, the dragons in Wyver become completely frenzied, turning against their partners among the Knightryders without the slightest resistance. Those familiar with dragons might deduce that they're in pain, though they don't show any sign of injury. The dragons knock their riders off their backs in midair and dive at citizens, jaws wide. Any attempts to soothe them will be long fought, achieved with great difficulty, and will see them retreat into a cowering state.

It's not just the airborne Knightryders taking to the defense of the city however, and people on the ground are mobilizing as well. On rooftops across the city are cannons set to fire harpoons. And if the spearheads alone aren't enough to injure the beast, they're coated with a paralyzing poison as well. Unfortunately, the soldiers stationed on the rooftops are prime targets to the frenzied dragons populating Wyver's skies, leaving the cannons open for ordinary citizens to use should they choose. Left alone too long, and cannons may fall under the control of the few remaining radicals that had opted not to flee the cities to join up with their leader Raysc, choosing instead to wait for an opportune moment to unleash their anger on the people of Wyver. These radicals will need to be dealt with before they can turn the cannons upon Wyver's defenders.

IN OLYMPIA

In Olympia, the gryphon partners of the Royal Guard react with immediate hostility to anyone showing signs of Ysverai's influence. Their keen senses allow them to pick up the smell of Ysverai's blood and they attack anyone with so much as a drop of tainted blood on them. Those who bear lingering effects of Ysverai's mental attack and who remain in sync with the dragon after hearing Ysverai's cry are also targeted and must face the gryphons' wrath without mercy or restraint. The gryphons must be disabled, for Olympia will not look upon any injury to their prized steeds lightly. However, the gryphons also show some resistance to Ysverai's cry, which is a great boon in battle against the dragon — gryphons that have lost their riders will be available for use, able to carry two passengers at a time.

The people of Olympia aren't planning to restrict their offense to pure brute force, and the mages of the city can be seen across Olympia wielding enchanted chains, using telekinesis in the hopes of restraining Ysverai and assisting in the airborne troops. But like the decaying buildings and wildlife, Ysverai is warping the magic around him, the chains faltering as they approach him, whipping back toward the city instead to cage whoever happens to be closest. It's not just the enchanted chains either, but other magic might behave erratically in his presence, as if the very essence of the spells have been corrupted.

VIRTUOUS VERSE

Both cities realize they need to seek survival rather than victory against Ysverai, switching gears to carry out diversion efforts and evacuation plans. It falls to refugees to continue the offensive while the Royal Guard and the Knightryders devote their attention to ensuring the safety of the citizens as they flee.

With official forces stretched thin, civilians and refugees alike will also need to step up to help herd citizens toward safety among a maze of collapsing buildings. Others will need to see to gathering resources for the evacuation, and while gathering non perishables is easy enough, it's considerably harder to wrangle livestock into cooperating amidst such chaos.

Those fighting may be asked to act as bait for Ysverai. Chatter through official troops speaks of a switch in strategy: the objective now is capture the dragon's attention and draw him away from the populous cities and towards the South Outpost. Whether or not it's possible to defeat the dragon remains uncertain, but there's no question that it will be easier to battle him without worrying about civilians.

THE RAGE

Luckily, the dragon is indiscriminate in his rage, and easily lured so long as a suitably infuriating target is before him. It doesn't take long to draw him to the South Outpost, but the trail of destruction he leaves in his wake is vast. Once there, the combined forces are greeted not just by Ysverai, but also by the appearance of Ysverai's master.

How bravely you've all come to meet your doom! Great heroes, one and all, ha! I welcome you, bring your best. Show me the power that's protected Olympia and Wyver, all that you have to offer me, whatever pitiful excuse for valor you seek to cling to when the fear has you cowering in your beds. All will be for naught in the face of Ysverai's might!

Let history witness the day the glory of war is reignited — the day that Wyver remembers its fangs once more! Come, Ysverai, last and greatest of the High Dragons! Come, and restore Wyver to its rightful place! Come, fulfill the promise as our protector that you could not in life!

Raysc lifts a gleaming device as he issues his command. Red lights blink and blood, the same oozing liquid that drips from Ysverai's many wounds, runs in clear tubes through the device. Ysverai rears back as Raysc makes adjustments to a control panel — and then lunges forward, mouth agape. With a single swallow, Raysc meets his end.

Raysc's attempt to control the dragon has only enraged him further, spurring Ysverai on to new heights of fury. It's become more vital than ever to face the dragon and take him down here and now. A few effective strategies are learned from research efforts and observed while defending Olympia and Wyver: goading the dragon into breathing fire will hurt him, burning him from the inside out, and attacks to his joints, eyes, wings, and exposed bone are effective. Ice is a natural repellent to dragons and can be used defensively or to weaken the dragon's hide. Healing spells will also react unnaturally to Ysverai's flesh, hastening his decay.

However, while concentrated efforts will lock him down, Ysverai cannot be permanently killed in this state — his flesh constantly rots and spawns anew. Attacking him here is to protect civilians, keeping him busy to avoid mass destruction elsewhere. Therefore, the battle is one of attrition, a matter of a race against time. You must destroy his flesh faster than it is able to regenerate to have any hope of victory.

Finally, when Ysverai is weakening, little more than bones with a few last vestiges of rotten meat hanging from a skeleton, the pathetic remnants of the last High Dragon takes to the skies. His wings are barely intact enough to carry him, yet desperation lifts him, higher and higher, until he lets out one great, earth-shaking roar.

A roar that carries across the battlefield, sending all who hear it to their knees. A roar that shatters the swords in soldiers' hands, that rends apart the very air itself — Ysverai's last act, a great curse upon El Nysa, to bring down the sky.

AND THE WORLD STOOD STILL

The terror of Ysverai's destruction hangs overhead — a tear in the sky, darkness pouring through, tendrils reaching down towards El Nysa to swallow up the planet in the dragon's final act of revenge. And yet nothing moves. A halo of brilliant light surrounds the rift in the sky, holding the grasping, hungry tendrils in check. And on the planet, not a creature moves. Not a blade of grass stirs. You're not able to even draw a breath. No matter where you are, not even the heart in your chest is beating. Everything has stopped — time has come to a standstill.

In a wash of light, an aurora of transport, you find yourself delivered to Thesa Station. Darma stands before you, her expression solemn, perhaps even grim, though that may just be a trick of the station's harsh lighting. She explains what has happened in short order: planetside, time has been completely frozen.

We have seen the birth and end of worlds. The rise and fall of civilizations infinite times over. We have seen all threads of possibilities that could have lead to this very moment... Or should have. Perhaps you might doubt our sincerity when we say this comes as a surprise to us, as well...

Special technology has been used to blind us. To this day, we only know of one region capable of creating and utilizing such technology... you will find this technology in a city known as Nadril. We understand that you have created a life down in Wyver and Olympia, but now we must ask that you put that life on pause. We ask you to travel to Nadril and find the original Refugee, and with him, answers. As you will discover, he does not wish to speak to us. It is no matter. By now it is too late to keep the Nysan public unaware of our existence.

We commend the efforts of those who wish to protect their comrades on the battlefield below, but a creature like poor Ysverai, twisted and warped, given unnatural life with terrible magic and technology, does not simply go down with manpower. Please, leave Ysverai to us. Time on the planet will remain stopped while we determine how to deal with the dragon. For now, rest and recover your strength. We have returned, and soon, there will be new refugees awakening. Perhaps you might like to prepare yourselves to greet them?

I'm sorry that I can't answer more questions, but for now, all our attention must turn to finding a way to stop what Ysverai has wrought.

A bank of monitors behind Darma displays the battlefield below: Ysverai's frozen, looming figure and the breach in the sky, and the Natha's halo, holding the destruction back. Though time passes normally on Thesa Station, El Nysa remains frozen, and all Refugees are unable to return to the planet until Ysverai's menace is dealt with. Luckily, with the Natha's return, full functionality has also returned to the station. The lights and environmentals are back to full power, access to all areas has been restored, the cafeteria is serving its normal offerings, and there's no evidence of any glitching or malfunctions.

Doubtless, the period of rest is much needed after the hard-fought battle. For now, with time on El Nysa at a standstill, there's little else to be done but enjoy the reprieve aboard Thesa Station.

FINAL OOC NOTE

Characters that reach an AC length action thread in this event will receive 2 rep for all factions, including Natha. Note that while these are split up for ease of processing, players may submit for all three.

OLYMPIA | WYVER | NATHA
Players can expect this event to run three days ICly before everyone is teleported to Thesa Station! From thereon, all characters will be grounded at the Station until the Test Drive Meme later this month.

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[ Well, less is better on this sliding scale of terrors. It doesn't sit well with him (how could it?), but it means she isn't a lost cause. With a glance around the area, Eggsy ensures no one else is close enough to hear them. ]

I don't think you're a monster. [ The reply comes automatically. He follows it up with something more sincere. ] And I've known a few monsters, so I can tell.

[ She definitely veers toward the darker side of grey, but he knows how she grew up — how hard it must have been to find any way forward, let alone a peaceful one, and how suspicious people still have their claws in her. Doesn't make this an easy conversation, of course. Countless questions come to mind, part concern for her and part due diligence.

Eggsy cards a hand through his hair, mussing his typically neat part. ]

Diva. [ He leans in closer to avoid being overheard. ] Why do you kill people normally?

[ """normally""" ]

_{[She's not sure if he's being sincere when he says that he doesn't think she's a monster, but the look in his eyes suggests he's being genuine. She'll believe him for now, he hasn't really given her a reason not to.

Even though he leans in to speak quietly she can hear him loud and clear. It's kind of a silly question, she thinks, but she can't fault him for being curious. She just assumes the answer is obvious.]}

Because I'm hungry.

[ Because she's hungry is better than for fun... Probably. Maybe. And she's been doing it less! Less is better!

Let him have this one. ]

Right. [ HONESTLY ] And you just pick random people? [ maybe they could find bad people! No, wait, that's definitely still serial killing. ] Do you eat, like, the whole person? Ain't it just blood you need or something?

[ How do vampires work, anyway? where's wikihow when he needs it tbh ]

You really want to know?

_{[Well he asked, so he must want to know, right? Even if he doesn't he's going to find out now.]}

Lately I'll go to the Red Light district and eat men who look at me the wrong way.

_{[Or are rude. Granted she kind of goads them into it, but it's still their fault for being pigs.]}

It's just blood...but I like the other parts too. I feel more full that way. _{[I mean, they're already dead so...why not indulge, right?]} Bones are nice to chew on as well and are good for my teeth. _{[What is she, a dog?]} Sometimes I'll share them with Keaton.

[ This time, his surprise shows on his face. It's all necessary information to answer his questions (which he needed to ask as someone with an interest in people, uh, not being eaten), but holy shitting hell, he wishes he brought a drink.

It's so much to take in that he isn't visibly disgusted. Bones, she chews on human bones and shares them with her wolf friend. ]

Jesus. [ wrinkling his nose. ] Better that you're going for pervs, I guess. [ That's better than, like, little Olympian families. ] Do you have to kill them, or is it a control thing?

[ Perhaps that's why she's killing less now... ]

A control thing? Well...it's hard not to kill them.

_{[And there's no lie in that. She's a creature with an innate bloodlust that sometimes is hard to control.]}

I'll get really excited, kind of like a cat hunting a mouse.

_{[She gets a thrill out of it - that's something she can't deny.]}

But I've been learning to ask people too, because it's the polite thing to do. _{[Yes, someone's been trying to teach her manners.]} So far I haven't killed anyone I've asked to drink from yet.

_{[Which honestly? Is an accomplishment.]}

But it's hard...

[ She pairs the reassuring news of her restraint with the terrifying articulation that, yes, she's a predator — and normal humans like him are prey. He doesn't move away, but his pulse spikes, thudding under his skin. As far as supernatural types go, she's his first (and a bit of a doozy, in truth).

He scrubs at his face in the hope of keeping his composure. ]

It's good that you're doing that. [ a beat. ] Really good.

[ and he means that. After everything Diva has endured, making an effort to change her behaviour is admirable. ]

As a person, I've gotta say I'm anti-killing people.

[ jokes!! but also not wheezes. ]

_{[She notices the spike in his heart rate with those fine tuned ears of hers, but she doesn't comment. Her expression does fall though, just a little, but not enough to make much of a difference.

Fingers move to one of her bandaged arms as she begins to scratch at the dressings, wanting to pull them off but also knowing that if she does the wounds will more than likely reopen and begin to ooze. Eggsy's already lost his appetite, she's sure. She doesn't need to make it worse.]}

You mean as a human. I'm a person too.

_{[And she's clearly not anti-killing people, human or non-human.]}

If you don't want to be around me because you're scared of me, I understand. I haven't been very pleasant lately and I'm broken too.

_{[In more ways than one, even though she's referring to her physical state, both before her encounter with the dragon and how she is now.]}

I don't think I'm very good for anyone.

[ Ah, fuck, he said the wrong thing. It's a tendency of his, for words to fail him. ]

I didn't mean — [ He cuts himself off, shifting closer, and reaches out to her, gently setting a hand on her shoulder. ] — c'mon, Diva, we're friends. [ Even if he's wary. He's always wary these days. And firmly — ] You're not broken. Everybody fucks shit up. [ usually with less murder, but details. ] I'm not gonna leave you just like that. Swear down.

But I am.

_{[There's a shake of her head, bangs shifting haphazardly over her forehead. It's not so much the murder she's hung up on. What he thinks is 'broken' isn't what she's fixated on in the moment.]}

My limbs are rotting, I can't have a baby and no one will want to have anything to do with me anymore.

_{[Okay so Eggsy literally just said he's not going to up and leave but, y'know. Everyone's allowed their dramatic moments.]}

Even though I kill and eat people? You want to be friends with a monster?

[ don't make him answer the hard questions!!

He slips his arm around her shoulders, trying his best to avoid irritating her wounds. ]

You'll get better, and we'll find someone to help if it doesn't start healing soon, yeah?

[ The limbs are an easier fix, oddly enough, with all the magic in this world. He notes the shift in the way that she talks about having a baby, too. Can't is different from won't. Best to take his reassurances one at a time. ]

I want to be friends with you. I'm already friends with you.

_{[It's a good thing Eggsy wiped the potato off her face earlier because he's soon going to find said face making contact with his chest. Bandaged arms find their way around his middle as she leans into an awkward embrace. She's not that worried about her limbs healing - they will eventually - but it's still jarring, realizing that she isn't as infallible as she once thought.

He gets a small sound as confirmation, one that's squeezed out of her throat and remains strained upon exit. They're already friends, huh?]}

I won't hurt you, okay? I promise I'll be good to you.

[ Oh, Diva. He reacts immediately, wrapping his arms around her. Like so many times before, Diva feels childlike in this moment. Her strength hasn't stopped her from being taken advantage of, even here, and Eggsy genuinely wants to be her friend, despite the ethical, er, complications of her behaviour.

She's trying. That much is obvious. ]

Thanks, Diva.

_{[The returned embrace has her smushing her face even more into his chest as she finds the corners of her eyes begin to sting with tears. She is quite childish in certain ways, it's true, as if parts of her emotional development stayed as stunted and frozen in time as her physical body has. There's a small sniffle out of her as she's held. She really doesn't want to break the promise she just made to Eggsy. Not after how she has mortified JJ down on the planet below.]}

You don't have to thank me.

_{[She doesn't think she's done anything worth being thanked for. In fact she isn't sure anyone should be thankful for her to begin with. Just what exactly has she done for anyone that's been remotely positive? She can't really say.]}

Edited 2018-06-19 18:01 (UTC)

[ He holds steady, unsure of what else to say. This, he can do, at least. ]

I know. [ He pauses. ] Did anyone see you down there? Local or refugee?

[ Anyone who could retaliate or, worse, report her to Olympian authorities. He imagines the person pursuing Diva would be worse off, but it doesn't bode well for anyone if word of a flesh-eating refugee girl spreads. ]

Mm...yeah...but most people ran if I didn't catch them first.

_{[Honestly being hunted wasn't something she was concerned about or that even crossed her mind. She snuggles against him harder, in the way a dog might press their face into their owner's hand. In Diva's case her chin finds Eggsy's shoulder as she lets her weight fall against him.]}

JJ saw me though..._{[That much she can remember.]} He's going to hate me now.

[ He thinks, then, that whenever he gets back to the ground (provided the guard hasn't sacked him for his involvement in the kidnapping of a lecturer at the Institute), he'll need to use his connections to find out if anyone reported Diva and squash any investigation into it. Fan-fucking-tastic. ]

[ Eggsy keeps his voice even. ] Did he run?

He did...but I don't blame him. He's afraid of blood.

_{[And now her, surely.]}

He won't say anything though. Even if he probably thinks I'm a monster now...he's not that kind of person.

[ He wants to say, If he's afraid, you don't know what he'll do or everyone tells someone, and someone always talks. Charlie had been a shitstain from day one, and still Eggsy hadn't expected a betrayal.

A spy ought to trust no one, but Diva isn't a spy. It wouldn't be fair to ask her to think like one, when she's already hurt and worried enough as it is. ]

I'm sure he'll come around. [ He doesn't sound sure, but it's the thing to say, isn't it? ]

_{[Would he though? Just how much could a normal person accept and put up with?]}

Maybe...but I don't know. I was pretty terrible, Eggsy. It was like the party all over again.

_{[Which she can reference, since he'd seen her memories of the brutal carnage that had happened that day.]}

[ Ah, the party. He can recall the scale of that. ]

I saw someone I — [ admired, respected, idealised? Take your pick. ] — someone important do something like what you did. [ a beat. ] Something violent. A lot of people died. [ He wouldn't call them innocent, but he wouldn't say they deserved it, either. A beat. ] I came around.

[ the implication being that maybe JJ will, too. Maybe, but Eggsy's different, not necessarily desensitised but capable of compartmentalisation. He's sure that Diva has noticed his odd attitude and calm before now (hell, she even called him on it in their first conversation).]

_{[Eggsy isn't someone that Diva would necessarily peg as normal, especially taking their first encounter into consideration. His attitude is odd, but that works well enough for someone like her. After all it means he's not quick to judge her, at least not the way others will.]}

I hope so...but you're different from him Eggsy.

[ He strokes her back, an attempt at comfort. ]

Yeah. [ hard to say when he started being different, but that's how he is now. ] I could talk to him, if you want.

[ maybe that would help! or he could, y'know, make sure the guy's keeping quiet. just regular friend things!! ]

_{[There's a little shake of her head at the offer, as she goes quiet for a moment. Would JJ listen to someone like Eggsy? Surely it wouldn't hurt.]}

Would you? I think he would run away if I try to.

[ He pulls back slightly so she can see his face. ]

I will. [ He pauses. ] Do you have a room around here, so I know where to find you?

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colorature - 2018-06-27 12:19 (UTC) - Expand

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